Decision reached in patent lawsuit with Huawei and Samsung in China

In 2016, a lawsuit began between Samsung and Huawei began over a selection of wireless communication device patents. The two companies have been trying to reach an agreement since the litigation was filed but, this week, a court has reached a decision on the “multiple” patents in question.

The decision comes from a Chinese court in Shenzhen and has ruled that Samsung did, in fact, violate Huawei’s patents, stating that Samsung is “obviously at fault”.

Samsung have been described to have “maliciously delayed negotiations” dating back to 2011, according to a Phys report. The ruling states that Samsung must pay a “small fee” to the court but, more importantly, immediately stop selling or manufacturing any products using the patented technology owned by Huawei.

The court ban did not list specific models and it is, therefore, unclear exactly how many of Samsung’s devices infringed the patents. Given the size of China’s smartphone market, though, this will cause Samsung significant problems.

In a statement, Samsung said they will “thoroughly review the court’s decision and determine an appropriate response.”